Professor Erdrich and Perspectives in Native American Studies

Last fall, poet Heid Erdrich '86, an award-winning author and educator, was invited by the Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies to teach NAIS 8: Perspectives in Native American Studies. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Native American Studies Program and of co-education at Dartmouth, Erdrich, a visiting professor, invited a different Native American alumna to the class each week. Class guests included women artists, authors, and activists: Aja DeCoteau '02; Jodi Archambault '91; Mali Obomsawin '18; Louise Erdrich '76; Anna Tsouhlarkis '99; Angela Erdrich '87, MED '94; Janine Ledford '89, and Kalina Newmark '11. (Angela and Louise Erdrich, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, are Heid's sisters). Students interviewed each guest and learned from their life experiences. In conjunction with scholarly readings and class assignments, this course became, in the words of a graduating senior, "one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences I've had here at Dartmouth."
Video by Signe Taylor